For the sixth consecutive year, the Gallup Job Creation Index has ranked North Dakota the nation’s best state for creating jobs.

“North Dakota maintained its pre-eminent position in Gallup’s annual ranking of state job markets in 2014, with North Dakota residents providing a strongly upbeat report on hiring conditions where they work – the most positive of any state,” the 2014 Gallup Job Creation Index states.

“The fact that North Dakota leads the nation in job growth year after year is a testament to the hardworking people and the innovative businesses all across our state,” Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. “We have worked hard to develop an environment that supports job growth in North Dakota and we will continue to do our part to further diversify our strong economy which is producing a growing number of career and business opportunities.”

Gallup’s Job Creation Index is derived from full- and part-time workers' reports of whether their employer is hiring and expanding the size of its workforce, not making changes, or reducing its workforce. The index is based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2-Dec. 30, 2014, with a random sample of 201,254 employed adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The full report is available at http://www.gallup.com.

North Dakota continues to have the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 percent. In January 2015, the state recorded having about 19,700 open and available jobs – about 17 percent more job openings than the state recorded in January 2014, North Dakota Job Service reports.